Iran foils 'one of the biggest terror plots' to target Tehran

TEHRAN, June 20 (UPI) -- Iranian intelligence officials said they foiled "one of the biggest terrorist plots" ever to target the capital city of Tehran on Monday.

Iranian state media reported law enforcement officials made a number of arrests and seized caches of explosives.

Tasnim News Agency reported officials confiscated a large amount of explosive material and bombs described as "ready to explode." The Intelligence Ministry did not identify who planned the attacks, which were scheduled to occur during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, but referred to them as "Takfiri-Wahhabi groups."

Takfiri is a critical term for Muslims who accuse others of non-belief; Wahhabism is an ultra-conservative conservative Sunni Muslim sect of Saudi origin, dating to the 18th century. Followers of the sect include some al-Qaida and Islamic State members.

The foiling of the plot comes after a week of attacks on terrorist groups on the Iranian border: The Revolutionary Guards' ground force killed five members of a Kurdistan-based group in West Azerbaijan, five members of the Jaish-ul-Adl group were killed by Iranian police in a gun battle in southeastern Iran and an unspecified number of militants died while attempting to cross the Iranian border with Iraq.